ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPRSTU–Z

C to Celaeno Celeos to Chthonios Chthonios to Confusion Copais to Cymatolege Cyme to Cyzicos

Chthonios (2) to Confusion

Chthonios (2)
Khthonios

One of the original Spartoi, i.e. the soldiers born from the dragon’s teeth sewn by Kadmus (Cadmus).

Khthonios’ sons, Nykteus (Nycteus) and then Lykus (Lycus), ruled the city that was eventually known as Thebes; Nykteus committed suicide and Lykus was deposed as a direct result of Zeus’ seduction of Nykteus’ daughter, Antiope.

Cicynna
Kikynna

A deme in Attika (Attica) which was one of several which were created after 510 BCE.

Cilla
Killa

A sister of Priam who, with her infant son, was slain by Priam because it had been prophesied that a mother and child of the royal house would cause the destruction of the city of Troy.

Cimon
Kimon

(507-449 BCE) An Athenian military leader, naval commander and statesman; the son of Miltiades the Younger.

Kimon came to prominence after the ouster of Themistokles (Themistocles) and in 479 BCE he was elected strategos which gave him almost unlimited powers in regard to Athenian military policy; he was less confrontational (some would say sympathetic) with Sparta and more focused on the subjugation of the islands and colonies of the Aegean Sea.

Kimon was finally forced to leave Athens in 461 BCE after a policy dispute with Perikles (Pericles); he was ostracized for ten years but in 457 BCE he tried to rejoin his “tribe” in the battle-lines when the Spartans invaded the district of Tanagra; this might have been proof positive that he had no confusion as to his loyalties but the followers of Perikles drove him from the ranks and would not let him fight for his city.

Perikles was instrumental in getting Kimon’s citizenship restored but some say that this was done with the condition that Kimon not become involved in politics and spend his time on foreign military campaigns; regardless, Kimon served his city in peace and war and was finally killed in battle on the island of Cyprus.

Cindus
Kindus

An ancient city in southwestern Asia Minor, in Karia (Caria); the city lies on the coast of the narrow peninsula that juts onto the Aegean Sea south of the city of Halikarnassus (Halicarnassus) and east of the island of Kos (Cos); the Athenians defeated the Spartans in a naval battle near there in 394 BCE.

The name may also be rendered as Kindos or Cindos.

Cinyras
Kinyras

The mythical king of the island of Cyprus and founder of the cult of Aphrodite on that island.

Kinyras was the father of Adonis by the unnatural union with his daughter, Zmyrna (perhaps her name was Myrrha); Zmyrna had dishonored Aphrodite and the goddess had her revenge by causing Kinyras to seduce his daughter; when Kinyras realized the enormity of his debauchery, he thought he could hide his crime by killing Zmyrna but the Immortals intervened and turned the disgraced girl into a myrrh tree.

Circe
Kirke

The nymph of the island, Aiaia (Aeaea), where Odysseus was stranded on his journey home from the city of Troy; she was the daughter of Helios (the Sun) and the Okeanid, Perseis; she and Odysseus had three sons, Agrios, Latinos and Telegonos.

When Odysseus landed on her island, Kirke turned his sailors into swine with a magic drink but Odysseus was not affected because he was given the antidote to the poison by Hermes; finally, Zeus commanded Kirke to allow Odysseus to leave and resume his journey home to Ithaka (Ithaca).

Kirke was the sister of king Aietes (Aeetes) of Kolkhis (Colchis); Aietes’ daughter, Medea, inherited magical powers from Kirke and used her knowledge of potions and spells to assist Iason (Jason) and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece; when the Argonauts fled Kolkhis with the Golden Fleece, they were pursued by Medea’s brother, Apsyrtos; Medea and Iason lured Apsyrtos into a trap and murdered him; Zeus was so incensed by such a wanton act that he ordered Medea and Iason to go to the island of Aiaia and seek Kirke’s forgiveness; Kirke would not absolve them of their crime and sent them on their way to face the harsh punishment of the Immortals.

For more information on Kirke I suggest that you ook for her on the Immortals page.

Cithaeron
Kithaeron

Mount Kithaeron is a mountain in northern Attika (Attica); 4,622 feet (1,409 meters) in height.

The name may also be rendered as Kithairon or Cithairon.

Cithara
Kithara

An ancient Greek musical instrument with seven strings and a triangular wooden sounding board; played by Apollon and professional musicians; similar to the lyre.

City Dionysia
Great_Dionysia

A festival of ancient Athens in honor of Dionysus; celebrated in the early Spring and notable for the performance of dithyrambs (a wild and irregular choral song or chant), tragedies, comedies and satyr plays (ribald dramas with a chorus of satyrs).

The Lesser Dionysia (Rural Dionysia) was also a festival of ancient Attika (Attica) honoring Dionysus but it was held in mid-December and consisted of wine feasts, processions and dramatic performances.

City-State
City State

A general term, usually rendered as Polis, which denotes a small geographical district comprising a central independent city and the surrounding countryside.

Clashing Rocks
The Symplegades

The deadly rocks (or islands) that stood at the narrow passage between the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and the Euxine (Black Sea).

The twin rocks were located near the entrance to the Euxine and would clash together whenever any living thing tried to pass between them; when the Argonauts were on their way to Kolkhis (Colchis) to retrieve the Golden Fleece, they were forced to negotiate the formidable Clashing Rocks, which were also called the Kyanean (Cyanean), i.e. Dark-Rocks and Wandering Rocks.

The blind prophet, Phineus, told the Argonauts to send a dove through the rocks before they attempted to sail their ship through; if the dove survived, it would be safe for their ship, the Argo, to proceed; the dove made it through the Clashing Rocks with only the loss of its tail feathers and the Argo sailed boldly into the passage; Athene held back one of the rocks with one hand and pushed the Argo through with the other; after the Argo survived the Clashing Rocks they became stationary islands and never menaced sailors again.

Classical Greek

The form of the Greek language used, especially in Attika (Attica), in the fifth and forth centuries BCE.

Clazomenae
Klazomenae

A Greek city in Lydia in Asia Minor on the southern coast of what is now known as the Gulf of Lzmir.

Clearchus
Klearkhus

A Spartan general during the Peloponnesian War; died 401 BCE.

Cleeia
Kleeia

One of the five daughters of Atlas who was placed in the heavens as a star and, with her sisters, formed the asterism, Hyades, in the constellation Taurus (the Bull); her sisters are: Phaesyle, Koronis (Coronis), Phaeo and Eudora.

Cleio
Kleio

One of the nine Muses; the Muse who inspired epic poetry and history; her name means, to celebrate.

Her name may also be rendered as Klio or Clio.

Cleisthenes
Kleisthenes

An Athenian statesman; circa 515-495 BCE; after the ouster of the tyrant, Hippias, Kleisthenes led the popular movement for the establishment of a democratic state instead of a tyranny or oligarchy; he is most noted for redistributing the lands of Attika (Attica) into ten “tribal” divisions; each section was called a deme.

His name may also be rendered as Klisthenes (Clisthenes).

Cleite
Kleite

The daughter of king Merops of Perkote (Percote) wife of Kyzikos (Cyzicos) who hanged herself when her husband was mistakenly killed by the Argonauts; after her death the nymphs of the grove cried such tears that a fountain formed and was named after her.

Her name may also be rendered as Klite or Clite.

Cleito
Kleito

The only daughter of Evenor and Leukippe (Leucippe) who dwelt on the central mountain of the island of Atlantis.

Kleito was a mortal woman and the wife of Poseidon (lord of the Sea); she and Poseidon had five pairs of twin boys who became the rulers of Atlantis; the twins were named: Atlas and Eumelus (or Gadeirus), Ampheres, and Evaemon, Mneseus, and Autokhthon (Autochthon), Elasippus, and Mestor and, finally, Azaes and Diaprepes; the descendants of Kleito were the rulers of Atlantis and the surrounding seas for untold generations.

Cleobule
Kleobule

The mother of Phoinix (Phoenix) and wife of Amyntor.

When Amyntor was being unfaithful to Kleobule, she begged Phoinix to seduce her husband’s mistress and turn her affections away from Amyntor; when Amyntor detected the plot, he cursed Phoinix and drove him from the city of Kalydon (Calydon).

Cleobulus
Kleobulus

A Greek sage and lyric poet; fl. 560 BCE; a native and tyrant of the city Lindus on the island of Rhodes; he was sometimes included as one of the Seven Sages by some historians which is an indication of his reputation throughout the ancient civilized world.

Cleombrotos I
Kleombrotos_I

The twenty-first Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled from 380-371 BCE.

Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of king Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of king Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).

Beginning with Leonidas I (the sixteenth Agiadai king who ruled from 490-480 BCE) the names and dates for the Spartan kings became a part of the historical record and are generally accepted as factual; prior to Leonidas I the dates for the Spartan kings are extrapolated back from historical times to approximate the time periods in which each king ruled.

Cleomedes
Kleomedes

One of the Thirty Tyrants elected to rule the city of Athens after the end of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE).

Having lost the war to the Spartans, the citizens of Athens elected thirty men to lead the new post-war government; these men became known as the Thirty Tyrants; the short lived government they comprised was an oligarchy.

The tyrants immediately began to prosecute Athenians who had been Spartan informers and collaborators during the long, hard war; the punishment of the guilty seemed appropriate to the common citizens and aristocrats alike but it soon became clear that the executions and banishments were going beyond the bounds of necessity or prudence; open hostilities soon developed between members of the Thirty and their authority and rule came to an end after one year.

Cleomenes III
Kleomenes_III

The twenty-eighth Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled from 236-222 BCE.

Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of king Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of king Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).

Beginning with Leonidas I (the sixteenth Agiadai king who ruled from 490-480 BCE) the names and dates for the Spartan kings became a part of the historical record and are generally accepted as factual; prior to Leonidas I the dates for the Spartan kings are extrapolated back from historical times to approximate the time periods in which each king ruled.

Cleomenes II
Kleomenes_II

The twenty-third Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled from 370-309 BCE.

Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of king Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of king Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).

Beginning with Leonidas I (the sixteenth Agiadai king who ruled from 490-480 BCE) the names and dates for the Spartan kings became a part of the historical record and are generally accepted as factual; prior to Leonidas I the dates for the Spartan kings are extrapolated back from historical times to approximate the time periods in which each king ruled.

Cleomenes I
Kleomenes

The fifteenth Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled circa 520-490 BCE.

Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of king Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of king Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).

Kleomenes went to Athens in 508 BCE to impose a solution to the dispute over the Athenian constitution, he was subsequently trapped on the Akropolis (Acropolis) and only allowed to leave after he promised to never return to Attika (Attica); the dates given for his rule are extrapolations and should be used only as approximations.

Cleon
Kleon

An Athenian general and political opponent of Perikles (Pericles); he died in 422 BCE; he was the subject of scorn and ridicule by orators and playwrights because of his humble origins and dogmatic stance on social issues.

Cleopatra (1)
Kleopatra

The second wife of Philip II of Makedon (Macedon); this marriage complicated the direct ascension of Philip’s son, Alexander (the Great) to the throne; Alexander and Philip’s first wife, Olympias, are assumed to have either killed, or arranged to have killed, Kleopatra, her son and her father.

Cleopatra (2)
Kleopatra

The daughter of Boreas (North Wind) and the sister of Zetes and Kalais (Calais); the first wife of the blinded seer, Phineus.

After her death, Phineus’ second wife hated the sons of Kleopatra and induced Phineus to blind them; thereafter Phineus was cursed by the winged-women known as the Harpies; Zetes and Kalais were the only ones who could break the curse of the Harpies.

Cleopatra (3)
Kleopatra

The wife of Meleagros (Meleager) and the daughter of Marpessa and Idas; as a young girl, she had been kidnapped by Apollon and her mother’s plaintive crying earned Kleopatra the by-name Alkyone, i.e. Sea-Bird.

Clite
Klite

The wife of Kyzikos (Cyzicus) who hanged herself when her husband was mistakenly hanged by the Argonauts.

Clotho
Klotho

One of the Fates; she and her sisters are the daughters of Zeus and Themis.

The three sisters determine the life and death of all mortal beings; Klotho spins the thread of life; her sisters are: Lakhesis (Lachesis) and Atropos; Lakhesis determines the length of the thread; Atropos cuts the thread when the proper time has come for death; the three sisters are also called the Moirai to denote their descent from the original goddess of Fate, Moira.

Clouds

A comedy by the Athenian poet, Aristophanes, produced in 423 BCE and performed at the Great Dionysia in the city of Athens; the play won third place in the competition and was re-written; the original manuscript is lost and the play we call Clouds is the revised version.

Clouds is a comic denunciation of the school of Sokrates (Socrates) and his students; at the outset of the play, the main character, Strepsiades, is bemoaning the crushing debt his squandering son has incurred; in order to legally avoid the debt collectors, Strepsiades decides to enroll in Sokrates’ school so he can learn how to argue his way out of debt regardless of the fact that he actually owes the money to local merchants.

In the play, the chorus assumes the role of Clouds and materialize at the bidding of Sokrates; according to Sokrates, the Clouds are the goddesses of Blather and Meaningless Oratory who look like ordinary clouds but, in reality, supply the inspiration for poets and prophets; the Clouds have supplanted the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympos (Olympus).

There is an interesting exchange between Strepsiades and the Clouds where the Clouds take credit for the rain and thunder which, everyone knows, is the province of Zeus*; the Clouds ask Strepsiades why Zeus never strikes down perjurers and lying politicians with his thunderbolts but regularly hits his own sacred oak trees; Strepsiades has no logical answer and concludes that the Clouds are truly divine.

There ensues an argument between the New Logic and the Old Logic where the simple, practical values of the country folk are berated and the “modern” values of the city dwellers are held aloft as the only workable standards for clear thinking, educated people.

Sokrates decides that the aging scoundrel, Strepsiades, is too dense to learn but accepts Strepsiades’ son, Pheidippides, as a student; Strepsiades is finally betrayed by his son and the Clouds but is given his justified revenge when he burns down Sokrates’ school and Hermes, a true Immortal, arrives to set thing right.

Aristophanes’ acid-like ridicule of Sokrates in Clouds might have set the stage for the tragic and callous trial of Sokrates in 399 BCE; Aristophanes portrayed Sokrates as a blithering intellectual with little or no concern for the consequences of his thoughts or actions; by exercising his poetic license, Aristophanes very possibly caused the death of a brilliant man for the sake of a few laughs.

Aristophanes’ plays are sometimes difficult to appreciate because he was a very contemporary poet, i.e. he was writing for the Athenian audience of his day; he would use puns, parody regional accents and speak directly to the audience in ways that force modern translators to seek out the contextual meaning rather than the literal meaning of the poet’s words; for that reason, I suggest that if you find a translation that is difficult to enjoy, please don’t blame Aristophanes, simply look for a translation that you can enjoy.

When trying to find a readable translator, I suggest Patric Dickinson; you may find his books at your local library in the 882 section but his books are out of print and sometimes difficult to find; I also recommend the Penguin Classics book Lysistrata & Other Plays: The Acharnians, the Clouds, Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Alan H. Sommerstein (Translator), ISBN 0140448144; you can also find this book at your local library or you can purchase it through the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.

Clymene (1)
Klymene

The daughter of king Minyas; the wife of Phylakos (Phylacus) and the mother of Alkimede (Alcimede) and thus the grandmother of Iason (Jason).

Clymene (2)
Klymene

An Okeanid, i.e. one of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys; the wife of Iapetos and the mother of Atlas, Prometheus and Epimetheus and Menoitios.

Zeus gave the Okeanids, Apollon and the Rivers the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.

Clymenos
Klymenos

The father of the wife of the aged Greek hero Nestor, Eurydike (Eurydice).

Clytemnestra
Klytemnestra

The wife of Agamemnon; she and Phoebe were the daughters of Tyndareus and Leda; she was the half-sister of Helen and the twins, Kastor (Castor) and Polydeukes (Polydeuces or Pollux); her children were: Elektra (Electra), Orestes, Iphianassa (Iphigenia) and Khrysothemis (Chrysothemis).

Klytemnestra was falsely portrayed as the murderess of her husband seven hundred years after her death and the label has become indelibly attached to her name; in The Iliad, Agamemnon was said to have been killed by Aigisthos (Aegisthus) when he returned from the siege of the city of Troy; in the play Agamemnon by Aeskhylus (Aeschylus), the story is retold with Klytemnestra as the villain and Aigisthos as simply an accomplice; Klytemnestra had many reasons to despise Agamemnon and wish him dead but her role as murderess was thrust upon her by a playwright for dramatic effect and not based on the earliest accounts.

Before Agamemnon sailed away to Troy, he gathered his army on the island of Aulis but after offending the goddess, Artemis, the ships could not leave the harbor; the seer, Kalkhas (Calchas), said that unless Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphianassa, to Artemis, the fleet would not be allowed to leave the island harbor; Agamemnon summoned Iphianassa on the pretext that she was to marry Akhilleus (Achilles) and prepared her as a human sacrifice; when the time for the sacrifice came, Artemis took Iphianassa from the altar and substituted a deer in her stead.

The attempted sacrifice of Iphianassa and Agamemnon’s ten year absence from home led Klytemnestra into the arms of Agamemnon’s cousin, Aigisthos; when Agamemnon finally returned home he was murdered by Aigisthos; Klytemnestra and her lover, Aigisthos, were in turn murdered by her son Orestes; the murder of Agamemnon and Klytemnestra are the subject of three plays by Aeskhylus (Aeschylus) known as Oresteia; the plays are compelling in their drama and tell a very complicated story which tries to differentiate the subtle distinction between “vengeance” and “justice.”

Her name may also be rendered as Klytaemnestra or Clytaemnestra.

If you wish to read Oresteia, I personally recommend Aeschylus I translated by Richmond Lattimore (ISBN 0226307786); you can find Oresteia at your local library or you can order it through the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.

Clytia
Klytia

An Okeanid, i.e. one of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys.

Zeus gave the Okeanids, Apollon and the Rivers the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.

Clytios (1)
Klytios

A brother of the last king of Troy, Priam; his name may also be rendered as Klytius or Clytius.

Clytios (2)
Klytios

He and his brother, Iphitos, were the sons of Eurytos; both brothers became Argonauts; his name may also be rendered as Klytius or Clytius.

Clytios (3)
Klytios

One of the Giants; his name may also be rendered as Klytius or Clytius.

Clytoneos
Klytoneos

The father of the Argonaut, Nauplios, and the son of Naubolos.

Cnossus
Knossus

A ruined city in the north-central area of the island of Crete; the capital of the ancient Minoan civilization.

Code of Gortyn

A series of municipal laws which were found inscribed on a wall in the city of Gortyn on the island of Crete and are assumed to be from the fourth or fifth century BCE; they are also referred to as the Twelve Tables of Gortyn.

Coes of Mytilene
Koes of Mytilene

The Persian king, Darius, offered Koes anything that he might wish in repayment for the good council Koes had provided in the past; Koes asked to be made the tyrant of the city of Mytilene; Darius granted his wish.

Coeus
Koios

One of the Titans; the son of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens); the husband of the Titan, Phoebe, and father of Leto, Asteria and Hekate (Hecate).

His name may also be rendered as Koeus or Coios.

Colainis
Kolainis

An epitaph for the goddess Artemis.

Colchis
Kolkhis

An ancient country that borders on the eastern edge of the Euxine (Black Sea) and is south of the Caucasus Mountains; best known as the land of the Golden Fleece and the realm of king Aietes (Aeetes).

The historian Herodotus asserts that the people of Kolkhis were descended from the Egyptians because of their physical appearance and the fact that when the Egyptian king, Sesostris (Rameses II), marched into Europe in the fourteenth century BCE, part of his army was either stationed in Kolkhis or deserted the army and founded their own nation.

Colias
Kolias

A hill in Attika (Attica) noted for the temple of Aphrodite (goddess of Love) which is located there.

Colonna
Kolonna

A cape in east-central Greece, southeast of Athens at the tip of the peninsula of Attika (Attica) jutting into the western Aegean Sea; also called Cape Sunium.

Colonnade of Zeus

A sculpture at Athens accredited to Euphranor.

Colonus
Kolonus

A deme of Attika (Attica) about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) northwest of Athens; the name literally means Hill.

Colophon
Kolophon

An ancient Greek city in Ionia, Asia Minor which was essentially depopulated by circa 286 BCE.

Colophonian
Kolophonian

A name referring to the Greek poet, Antimakhos (Antimachus); he was a Greek poet (fl. 410 BCE) from the Greek city of Kolophon (Colophon) in Ionia, Asia Minor; his poems were epic in nature and modeled after the Homeric style; commonly called The Kolophonian.

Colossae
Kolossae

An ancient city in southwestern Phrygia, in Asia Minor.

Colossus of Rhodes

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; designed and constructed by Khares (Chares) of Lindus as a 110 foot bronze statue of Helios; erected in 290 BCE and toppled in an earthquake, sixty six years later, in 224 BCE.

The popular conception of the statue standing with its legs spanning the entrance to the harbor is imaginative, but inaccurate; the statue was a representation of Helios as a free-standing erect figure at the entrance to the harbor of the city of Rhodes; the statue was situated on a stone base with an iron frame that supported the bronze casing of the body of Helios; the hollow statue was filled with stones to add weight and give stability.

Column

A pillar consisting of a base, a shaft and a capitol; the shaft was generally cylindrical and, depending on the style, tapered towards the top.

Commos
Kommos

An affectation of dramatic actors in Attika (Attica) where an actor and the chorus would alternate in wild lamentations.

Confusion

Kydoimos (Cydoimos); a Spirit; the personification of Confusion or Uproar.

Chthonios (2) to Confusion

C to Celaeno Celeos to Chthonios Chthonios to Confusion Copais to Cymatolege Cyme to Cyzicos

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